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Recreating art

Sep 2, 2014

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    1. We had such fun with the photo recreation contest in the 2014 Anniversary Games that it would be great to continue the momentum and share our attempts to recreate paintings and photographs with our dolls. Post pictures, plans, questions, observations and solutions and let's get this show on the road!

      If you want crit on your attempts, state this in your post. And, please only crit those that ask for it and please ensure crit is constructive. That doesn't mean you have to say "Oooh! Lovely!" to everything, just that the crit needs to be specific and concrete with, ideally, some pointers as to how the person could have done it differently.

      One of my motivations for doing this is to learn. By looking at the work of artists I admire, I can analyse how they achieved what they did and add some of that to my own work. I would therefore suggest that you start out by looking at artists and photographers whose work you like and have a go at that. The second criterion is practicality. There is no point trying to recreate the Raft of the Medusa if you have an afternoon to do it in.

      My contributions (so far). As hard crit as you can manage, pretty please.

      First, a tongue-in-cheek recreation of the Girl with the Pearl Earring. This wasn't done with any serious purpose. I just thought it would be a funny thing to do.

      The main challenge was fabrics. I had some yellow cloth and blue ribbon and used a cushion cover as the jacket(!). I wet the yellow fabric and scrunched it up, to get the folds in the original and just pinned and clothes pegged it all on him. I chose the doll based on how close he looked to the subject. I wouldn't have tried this painting if I didn't have a doll that looked something like her. That would just be making life too hard. The lighting was a small desk lamp, diffused and on the far side of the face, adjusted until I had roughly the same pattern of shadow on the camera side. No reflector, to keep those dense shadows. I had a picture of the painting open on my laptop so I could pose him and do the light as close as I could. I also had a version of the painting open in Photoshop as I was editing, to make sure I cropped it in the same way and did any burning needed to darken the shadows.

      Painting.

      [​IMG]

      My version

      [​IMG]

      Second one. The aim of this was not to reproduce an actual painting, but to analyse the style of a painter and produce something in that style. This was as a learning exercise, so I invested some more thought and time in it. So, the painter was Holbein. My analysis identified that he tended to use a strong, often dark triangle as his main compositional element. Bodies tend to be three-quarter length and turned slightly away from the viewer. Lighting is diffused, short and high key (little contrast between shadows and highlights), giving it a "dry" look. He favoured that wonderful teal colour as a background. He often had a surface or piece of furniture in the bottom of the picture, as a frame, from which the body "grew". He included objects that said something about the sitter.

      So, clothing was fudged together from what I had. The "coat" is just a piece of black velvet, pinned around him. I used a large, diffused light at a good distance from the subject (about two feet, I think). It was short lighting, with the light angled just to the side of the nose, on the far side of the face, to give some molding shadows on the camera side of the face (or it would look flat and boring). I used a sheet of card as a reflector to lighten the shadows on the camera side. I made some sheet music, as the sitter is a singer.

      Typical Holbein portrait.

      [​IMG]

      My faux Holbein.

      [​IMG]

      Last one. This was for the recreation competition. Choice of photo was made on the basis of LOVE! I adore noir lighting and Marlene Dietrich and had access to things that could be used for both. I am a stickler for detail, so I had to find her cufflinks (one of my daughter's stud earrings poked through a folded cuff), tie (piece of ribbon that I was very glad I still had) and handkerchief (small piece of toilet paper. yes. This is the standard of things around here). I spent AGES setting up the pose, as Ip bodies can't get their arms across their bodies, because of their substantial boobage. They also won't raise their heads. I ended up keeping her elbow bent with a rubber band strapped around it (out of shot) and raising her head by poking small pieces of folded cardboard into her neck socket. XD I ended up with a compromise, The closest I could get to the pose without having a nervous breakdown. Again, I had the image open on my laptop so I could just frustrate myself. My analysis of the lighting found that it was one hair/rim light and one strong, high keylight, producing "butterfly" lighting (Marlene's favourite, which produces a butterfly shaped shadow under the nose and accentuates the cheekbones, not that my doll obliged with cheekbones, but I forced myself to overlook that). So, two desk lamps, one diffused at the front, over her head and slightly forwards, to produce the distinctive shadow. The other was behind her, and stuffed into a pizza box with the end opened, so that just a slit of light shone through. That was angled to get as much light on her hair and shoulders as I could. I didn't get enough on her shoulders, but I had had enough by that stage.

      Processing was trying to get the contrast as close to the original as possible. That involved shifting levels around far more than I would usually, but I am glad I did, as it has taught me something about what makes a striking B&W photo; LOTS of contrast. I took out flyaways, as the original image is polished and slick, and a head full of frizzy hair wasn't going to do that.

      Reference.

      [​IMG]

      Final image.

      [​IMG]

      My plans are to do more in-the-style-of pieces, as I find those most satisfying and I learn most from them. I am currently working towards a Caravaggio shot or two. I have done the analysis, just need to get it together and take the shot.

      So, what have you been doing and how? What do you have planned? Tell all!
       
      #1 MadamMauMau, Sep 2, 2014
      Last edited: May 10, 2017
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    2. Excellent idea, and I'm happy to chip in as I also feel I learned a lot both this year and last in the photo challenges, though my analysis is much more basic than yours MadamMauMau!
      Both this year and last year's recreation challenges meant I spent much - much - longer on the photos and thinking about the set-up than I normally would, which can only be a good thing...
      Though last year's was, in retrospect, a rather silly choice - the challenge was to recreate a painting / piece of artwork, and I went for a Hieronymous Bosch piece, Tondal's Vision:
      [​IMG]
      Like all Bosch's pieces, it's madcacp, frenetic and more than a bit surreal! I spent an inordinate time trying to get together / make props and background that vaguely approximated the original, not to mention assembling and posing a lot of tiny dolls - what started out as fun did get raher frustrating by the end, as having just balanced one of the errant ones, another would come crashing down!
      One of the main things I learned, which would doubtless have been apparent to everyone else from the start, is that painters can of course play with perspective and visual distortion however they like, not to mention relative sizes of people and objects - when assembling for a photograph, not so much - so viewpoint was something I really struggled with, let alone scale...
      Photoshop / editing wasn't allowed for this contest, so the below is a post-contest version in which I'd added a sepia tinge and some shadowing (but I think if I'd used an editing programme from the start it would have more of a 'painting' feel). And if I was doing it from the start in Photoshop, then I'd have taken different pics of the different parts from the appropriate viewpoint, and then combined them with some rescaling - so the central head would have been much much larger!:
      [​IMG]
      So it's more of a recreation in spirit than actuality!

      This year I thankfully went a bit simpler though also on a tiny scale (I renovate dollshouses and have a stack of tiny props!). I'd wanted to pick an anthromorphic photo from the start (and use my anthro dolls), so was looking through a range of early 1900s pics of animals dressed up as people, and when I came across this one, from 1915 by Henry Whittier Frees (who was adamant than no animals were hurt in the making of his pics - a lot of patience, love and wasted film!), I knew I'd have fun with my catsys...
      [​IMG]

      I made the trestle from some bits of balsa hot glued together (though it was v unstable, which also led to a few cursing moments...). I assembled a lot of tiny props from across my dollhouses (e.g. the broomsticks from my witches house, a lot from my antiques shop etc) and used the closest approximations I had to hand (though far from perfect) and cobbled together the dresses and sack.
      I spent quite a lot of time trying to get the set up right - so everything is set up at an angle to the camera, the props as accuarely positioned as possible - though they are different relative sizes to the original, which was a challenge! I love my catsys but they are little so-and-sos to pose - I managed to get them kneeling upright and tacky waxed their paws to the table, but despite a lot of manipulation of both of them, just could not get ginger catsy to hold her head in quite the right direction (this still bugs me a bit on the photo!).
      I tried few different lighting conditions - natural daylight on an (as ever) overcast day worked best, with a little bit of light shown down from the top. Then a lot of aging of the photo in Photoshop - converting it to black and white, blurring it, adding grain and noise, and playing with the contrast - and then a lot of playing round with coloured filters, though I still didn't get this quite right (I'm not sure why it was so much harder with the colour than I thought it would be - any top tips welcome here!). And again, the end result is a recreation in spirit as much as accuracy - though my sister has now charmingly informed me that I've managed to turn it from 'cute' to 'creepy', ah well! :)


      [​IMG]

      I'd like to do more tiny pieces and set ups, but think I need a specific challenge like this, as unlikely to spend the necessary time otherwise and really focus on it... Would love to learn from other people too - more please in this thread!
       
      #2 shrinkomatic, Sep 2, 2014
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    3. This is a great idea. And I loved both of these entries. I suck at photography. (The processing/digital part).
      A lifetime ago when I was in art school I remember to photo majors doing this for a project..of course this was back in the days of darks rooms. I would like to give this a try.
       
      #3 trayola, Sep 2, 2014
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    4. I enjoy replicating images and have done quite a few with varying degrees of success. I love using Catsys sometimes, as you did, shrink! Here are a few of those.

      I had to play a few tricks with this one, hanging the apple from a thread then shopping it out plus painting in the shirt and tie.
      Rene Magritte's The Son of Man
      [​IMG]The Son of Fluffy by bentwhisker, on Flickr
      [​IMG]for reference by bentwhisker, on Flickr


      This one was accomplished by happening to have three similar dolls! I was thinking of adding my black Catsy too, that might have been an interesting twist. Posing is always an issue, as already noted. Even with all the articulation, dolls just don't bend like people (or cats) do. I usually resort to sticky dots purchased for scrapbooking.
      Marcel Duchamp's Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2
      [​IMG]Nude Kitty Descending a Staircase, No. 1 -- inspired by... by bentwhisker, on Flickr
      [​IMG]Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2 (inspiration) by bentwhisker, on Flickr

      Of course, finding comparable props and clothing is another problem. Sometimes I am inspired by the fact that I already have appropriate items on hand. Backgrounds are another challenge. For this one I found a photo of the house used in the painting, printed it out, and enhanced it with crayons.
      Grant Wood's American Gothic
      [​IMG]American Kitteh by bentwhisker, on Flickr
      [​IMG]for reference by bentwhisker, on Flickr
       
      #4 phanuel, Sep 2, 2014
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    5. Those are some great photos. So what are you guys planning next? Do you have a Grand Plan, or are you doing it as it takes your fancy?

      Posting a blog that I find fun and useful, Guess the Lighting. It is a guy who takes photographs and figures out what lighting was used to produce them. As we need to do this for our recreations, it is a good place to look at and see how it is done.

      http://guessthelighting.com/

      And Shrinkomatic, I am currently trying to teach myself black and white photography techniques and have drawn up a decent workflow for effective monochrome conversion (using colour channels). Is that what you are talking about with having trouble with the colours? If so, I will get you my notes and will at some point post a tut here from all the stuff I have gathered from books and the net. I had no idea it was such a specialism. I was pretty much "Take a colour photo and desaturate it" but, no. Oh no. It has all its own rules and tips.
       
      #5 MadamMauMau, Sep 2, 2014
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    6. The next recreation I've been thinking of trying is a scene from the 1975 Australian movie Picnic at Hanging Rock. The story takes place in 1900 so the fashions are wonderful.

      But I have no master plan or themed series at the moment.
       
      #6 phanuel, Sep 3, 2014
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    7. One of my favourite films! You could do all sorts of atmospheric stuff with that. Will it be an attempt at a film still, or a more impressionistic shot that conveys the mood of the film? Lots of frocks to make, there.
       
      #7 MadamMauMau, Sep 3, 2014
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    8. You guys are awesome! I love these photos, they're so well done and creative <3
      I was actually thinking of participating in the photography contest, but couldn't due to time restriction. :') I actually chose a vintage photograph and I have the perfect little girl for it, so I'm definitely going to have a go at it and post it here :)
       
      #8 Chamillia, Sep 3, 2014
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    9. Well, I feel a bit apprehensive to post in here as I'm not sure how much I could contribute...but I love to take black and white photographs! The vast majority of my doll photos are done in black and white (a warm black and white though, as I grew up loving Victorian daguerreotypes and their brownish, metallic blacks). I really do have to agree that contrast is vital. Simply desaturating a photo will not create the needed deep blacks and glowing whites that really catch the eye. Instead you will end up with a wash of grays. In color photos you have the contrast of colors. You can play with colors that compliment each other, or set each other off, but in black and white you have: black, white, and gray. Shadows and highlights are what will define the shapes in the photo, so creating lighting that brings out those shapes becomes even more important. Hehe, those are my two cents on black and white. ^_^"

      Anyway, I guess I should start out by saying that I don't have photoshop, so I can't contribute to any of that discussion. The photo I take has to really be the photo I will get in the end because I don't have any programs that can remove aspects, or add them in. I mean I can add text or lines with paint...but that degrades the final quality of the image, so I don't like to use it.
      Second thing to note, I have a point and shoot camera (a Kodak EasyShare C703 to be exact), so a lot of my struggles with photography are just tricking the camera to take the photo I want. For example, I have no real control over where my camera focuses other than to choose between auto focus and always focus on the center of the screen. I know MadamMauMau, that you are a big proponent of the tripod for example. But one of the best ways I've found to trick my camera is to put the thing I want in focus in the center of my shot (just easiest for the camera to see) depress the button half way (which auto focuses the camera) and then move the camera to where I actually want the photo to be framed while keeping the button half depressed. This keeps the original focus. Er, as you can imagine, this means that I have to take a lot of photos to get just the one I want. For the photography contest I took just over 125. (That sounds so horrible! :horror:) But anyway, my camera doesn't always see colors the same way, even if I shoot three consecutive photos without moving anything, so starting with a big pool allows me to choose the photo with the best color balance for my purpose, the best focus, the best slight angle (since I take my photos hand held they adjust subtly between shots). Right, so I don't know how much I can be of help...but I have been really focused on taking photos lately (oh, last year or so), so I really like the idea of discussing them. I hope no one minds.

      Anyway, here is the shot I took:
      [​IMG]

      And here is the original:
      [​IMG]

      It is a photo by Augustus Sherman, who was the Chief Registry Clerk on Ellis Island. The photo is circa 1905-1909 and depicts an Italian immigrant woman.
      I also chose this photo because it reminded me of my doll (I especially loved that Mercedes' faceup really complimented that of the woman!) and had other components that I knew I could fake together. My doll is wearing her default blouse from Iplehouse, with the collar tucked in and little rubber bands around her elbows to cinch the sleeves and help puff up the shoulders. The necklace, skirt, and scarf all belong to me. The skirt is held in place with clothes pins. The scarf is held on with two rubber bands and several hidden pins to help keep the folds in place.
      Wetting the fabric is a very interesting idea, MadameMauMau! One I had not considered. I shall have to think on that because I found that there was just sooooo much fabric in comparison to the doll's scale that it felt very big. In the end, I just rearranged it endlessly. >.<
      I'm fairly happy with the end result, I got some nice little details like the stray hairs on her forehead and that makes me happy. I had one last set of photos taken after the set this photo is pulled from where I fixed the handkerchief in her hand (just a small square of cut cloth) to match the original position, but by that point I had lost the light. I used natural light from two windows, and a desk lamp. Eh well.
       
      #9 Lady Ravenswood, Sep 3, 2014
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    10. I'm admittedly a bit obsessed w/the Meiji restoration era in Japan (blame Rurouni Kenshin & Gintama...). I own a Volks Ryoma Sakamoto. So I thought, well, how hard could it be to recreate this photo?

      [​IMG]

      I noticed in the photo that he&#8217;s sitting on a 3-legged stool. I have one &#8211; yayyyy! Only, not so much &#8211; could not get my boy (decided to use my Dollshe Saint for this) to SIT, so I had to add a support to the back of the stool. Got him all dressed up, w/katanas (you can&#8217;t see but the katana letter opener I have isn&#8217;t as long as the one in the photo so I let the sheath drop down &#8211; the exposed blade is hidden under the sleeve.
      Ryoma (that is a photo of the REAL Ryoma Sakamoto, BTW) is on a tiled floor, so I drew tiles on the back of a poster to use as flooring. I did not have a 3-drawer chest so had to improvise by taking the drawers out of one w/2 and setting it on top of them. Then I found out that the glaring whiteness of the photobox was not working so well so had to put grey cardboard behind him. Sigh.
      Lighting &#8211; I used the light from a window (side lighting) and an umbrella light in front. That worked. Then I had to age the photo so, not having Photoshop, I got out a window screen & shot it thru that. I took the photo in color but it looks B/W all on its own.
      I also took about 500 shots to get all the lines parallel & his pose aligned properly. OMG I just finally said &#8211; GOOD ENOUGH!
      Here's the result:
      [​IMG]
       
      #10 Teleri, Sep 3, 2014
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    11. Very well done, Teleri. I like the screen idea for aging without PS.
       
      #11 SteamWitch, Sep 3, 2014
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    12. Thanks SteamWitch :D The screen fell down 3 times in the middle of the shoot LOL . AND one of my cats jumped onto my craft table thereby upsetting everything. Don't they always?
       
      #12 Teleri, Sep 3, 2014
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    13. Oh! Great idea with the screen. ^__^
      Hehe, also it's a bit of a relief to know I'm not the only one who doesn't have photoshop these days.
      I have often wanted to experiment with taking photos through a dirtied, or water-drop covered piece of glass for a similar effect. I tried it a bit once, but I haven't gotten anything like what I would want, so it's still just an idea at this point.
       
      #13 Lady Ravenswood, Sep 3, 2014
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    14. That is a very good idea with the screen. However, I really will try and sell the virtues of having access to a processing program. It is the digital photographer's darkroom. Without one, it is like that days of giving your roll of holiday snaps to the chemist to process. You have no control over what is done with your image after you have pressed the shutter. If you are taking photography at all seriously, you really do need to learn how to use your darkroom.

      I am chugging along on CS2, which is ANCIENT and lacks some of the things that could be useful. However, it does the job and, I believe, it is now unofficially free to download from the Adobe site. I seem to remember the premise was that they were withdrawing support for it, so wanted to make a backup copy available for anyone who still used it and ran into trouble. But I think anyone can download it.

      If not that, then I hear that Elements is a fair start. Or Lightroom, which is not as well-appointed as PS, but has advantages if you batch process.

      Really, people, get the software.

      And that focus locking trick works even better with a tripod, Lady Ravenswood. You just pan the head. That way, you are avoiding any slight movements backwards or forwards with your unsupported hands that would queer the focus. It's no good. I love my tripod. Best £40 I have ever spent.
       
      #14 MadamMauMau, Sep 3, 2014
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    15. Oooh, I love that the thread is filling up with examples and helpful hints! phanuel, I've loved your arty catsys for ages - I think they're a main reason I ended up with my little gals! Would be fab to see your Picnic shots if you do them... I'm also thinking filmwise, as I'd like to try a few Wizard of Oz moments (my pukipukis have just got some rather wonderful Oz outfits :)).
      Lady Ravenswood, your black and white pics are always beautiful - classy and elegant! And I'm even more filled with admiration that this is without fancy focusing abilities or Photoshop! Likewise Teleri - the pic looks great and v clever improvisation on the aging front (I tried some tights stretched over my lens at one point and the result was horrible!).
      Though I have to say that I am predictably with MadamMauMau on this - even relatively basic Photoshop (I spent about £30 on Photoshop Elements 11) lets you do so so much with your pics - or even just tiny tweaks - that give you so much more control! and I think they've made the interface on Elements much easier to deal with recently as well, so it's less intimidating... Plus a tripod is a must - long exposures in natural lighting, v precise control of your shots, ability to reposition your doll and retake the pic from exactly the same angle when you've just spotted something out of place etc etc etc :) I bought a little one (about 50cms) for £10, which is exactly the right height for most of my dolly shots...
      MadamMauMau, if you did a black and white tutorial, that would be amazing!Really helpful - all I've done so far is try out a few of the presets for conversion, which give very different results, but I am far from understanding why or how! And my colour problem was embarassingly even more basic than that - I was trying to get exactly the right shade of sepia and thought it would be easy (e.g. sampling a swatch from the original) - but no... I tried out a few different modes for overlaying colour (changing the hue, soft light, just lowering the opacity etc) as well as layering lots of different colours but just didn't get it quite right - am I missing something very obvious?!
      Another black and white question - the stark contrast pics look beautiful, but does anyone also have any thoughts on how to get the very soft low contrast type pics in e.g. the season 4 Game of Thrones character posters (e.g. http://www.comingsoon.net/news/tvnews.php?id=115415#/slide/37 ). I don't seem to be able to get this extrame remotely right either!
      And Chamilia and trayola - thanks, and you should definitely give it a go and post in here!
      :)
       
      #15 shrinkomatic, Sep 3, 2014
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    16. Hehe, I do edit my photos after I take them. I have iPhoto, which can adjust a lot of things (color and contrast-wise), just not add or remove things the way that photoshop can (such as adding distress or filters or smoke or magical effects, or removing little hairs or lint or joints), so there is still a lot of value in planning the photo beforehand so that it's more just adjusting those little things. I would be really frustrated if I could do nothing at all to my photos but upload them, because as you say, part of making a photo is finishing it off after it's out of the camera, weather that is through traditional processing or digital processing. :3nodding:
      Hm, perhaps my tripod is just a bit junky, but it gives me more trouble to move it because it makes the photo jangle around anyway trying to get it in the new position. *_*

      Edit: I'll take a guess on the game of thrones style in that you take a photo which does include some contrasts (perhaps not as pronounced, but still there because you can still see them) and then manually drop the contrast and highlights to make a more flat color distance between the black, white, and grays. I'm not sure how to phrase that. But you can get a very silvered effect (which is how I think of these types of black and whites) in iPhoto by cranking contrast and highlights all the way down, and then just slightly underexposing it.
      I think that is where something like photoshop would really come in handy because I believe you can bring up the light in a shadowed eye area while not effecting (over brightening) the other side of the face for instance. Lol, I'm sure that was no help whatsoever in terms of how to do it in photoshop...er. Yes.
       
      #16 Lady Ravenswood, Sep 3, 2014
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    17. I am with you, Lady Ravenswood. I think that photo effect is achieved by lowering the contrast. I also suspect that a green filter was used to darken the face and bring out the creases and textures. And noise added, to give it grain. Some Gaussian blur, to soften the edges. A texture layer seems also to have been put on it, to get that clouding around the bottom. It almost looks like a silver gelatin effect. I am sure someone has developed a process for that in PS *goes to look*

      Yes, your tripod should be absolutely stable when you pan the head. Something is sticking there. Did you completely loosen the locking nut thing before panning?

      I was having a go at sepia last night, and came up with a formula that doesn't blow out the highlights (which happens if you use the sepia photofilter whilst preserving luminosity) or grey everything out, as would happen if you didn't preserve luminosity or just had a coloured layer, with opacity reduced. I think (this is where I should really keep better notes) it involved making a new layer above the image, setting it to soft light, filling it with a sepia colour (judge by eye what colour you need) then reducing opacity until it looks OK.

      ETA: Just had a look, and there are silver gelatin effect plug-ins for Photoshop. I don't know about you, but I don't buy effect plug ins. That seems like cheating, as it is an automated process. I would rather find out what steps the plug in has and do them myself. But then, I am not a big one for filters and effects. They can be just distracting.

      ETA2: And, as Silver Efex Pro is supposed to be the best plug in this sort, at $149, I will figure it out for myself, thanks.

      http://www.google.co.uk/nikcollection/products/silver-efex-pro/
       
      #17 MadamMauMau, Sep 3, 2014
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    18. [I have to ask, when you say "pan the head" what exactly do you mean? Please forgive my total lack of technical terminology. I just want to make sure I'm understanding the part you are talking about.
      Edit: Ah, nevermind. I see what you mean. You are talking about the handle to turn the camera. That part actually works fine. It just wasn't the way I needed to move the camera.]
      Anyway, my tripod has sort of a switch to lock the bar that allows me to move the camera up or down, so it's either open or closed. But it has sort of a suction effect going on with the bar. Hence why trying to move all that while still depressing the button half way doesn't sound like a treat. I'm honestly pretty sure it's just junky because turning the camera from landscape to portrait position, it is always crooked no matter how I try to jam it the last few degrees to make it straight. >.<

      Also, yes! Giving an overall tint to the photo while keeping it totally desaturated is a great way to additionally tweak the shadow/highlight range in a black and white photo. ^__^
       
      #18 Lady Ravenswood, Sep 3, 2014
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    19. By panning the head, I mean swiveling the camera on the tripod but not tilting it. Wow. That wasn't a very good definition. Erm, Try again. The camera sits on a platform. Panning it involves rotating that platform, by using the handle that comes out of the back. Is that any better?

      My tripod is also rubbish and my portrait to landscape is also wonky. I bought a little spirit level that attaches to the top of the camera so you can get true horizontal and vertical. It has been nowhere near the camera. XD I would only forget to look, anyway. What I now do is splay or bring in the legs until I can line up what should be a dead vertical or horizontal edge with the edge of the viewfinder. Works fine. Although I could do with a proper tripod.

      ETA: Here is a relatively useful list of B&W photographic finishes, as a demonstration of a plug in, but gives you an idea of the differences between film finishes. http://sidvasandani.blogspot.co.uk/2011/02/b-and-duotones.html
       
      #19 MadamMauMau, Sep 3, 2014
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    20. Hehe, I wrote my edit just as you wrote your explanation. :doh
      Thank you for clarifying. So yes, that part works just fine, it just wasn't the way I needed to move the camera. I needed to move the camera downward instead of across.
      Leveling it using the legs would be the best way since they seem to be so obstinate. ^_~
      Perhaps I'll drag it out and meddle with it some more...
       
      #20 Lady Ravenswood, Sep 3, 2014
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    21. $149??!! Eek! And agree re the plug ins, as presumably these are things you can do step by step yourself with greater control rather than automating it?
      Well, in principle anyhow - thanks both v much for the tips and suggestions, v helpful! So much so that although I should be packing to go away, I had to have a quick try with an existing photo... I hope this isn't deviating from the thread purpose too much, in that I would like to have a bash at recreating some of the posters e.g. the one here http://www.comingsoon.net/news/tvnews.php?id=115415#/slide/19 but am going about it back to front with the effects before the actual photograph with posing etc! A combination of what you both suggested produced this:
      [​IMG]
      which is much closer than I'd been able to get before in terms of softening the contrast and look - but I think I'm still missing out on being able to create the look they've got where there's both dramatic lighting - and in that sense contrast - but still v muted and washed out... That may not make any sense! But I guess I may need to take a photo with some strongly directional lighting and / or spend some time dodging and burning?
      Pah, sleep time now - thanks again! :)
       
      #21 shrinkomatic, Sep 3, 2014
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    22. Yay, glad it helped. ^_^
      I think there is also the added factor that they placed smoky effects in front of a lot of the darkest areas, thus making it seem like there was less black than there really is in the photo to begin with.
       
      #22 Lady Ravenswood, Sep 3, 2014
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    23. That is pretty damned close, though. How about selectively increasing the shadows and leaving the midtones as they are? I would do it in Levels, pulling the left slider in slightly, but curves would do it too (I don't understand curves. It is all alchemy to me. Thankfully PS gives you two or three different ways to achieve the same result).
       
      #23 MadamMauMau, Sep 4, 2014
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    24. I do use the edits in Flickr/Photo Bucket - that's always fun. I learned photography w/a single lens reflex Pentax (35 mm film) in the Navy - the Photographer Mate assigned to the paper (I was the editor of the SeaBee Courier) let me futz about in the darkroom sometimes - only the B&W stuff of course LOL When I look at the photographs created prior to digital & remember the process I am always amazed!
       
      #24 Teleri, Sep 4, 2014
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    25. I'm thinking of a particular scene, but I won't be trying to replicate it exactly ( is that redundant?). I don't sew, so, as usual, I will be cobbling together the outfits with what I have on hand.
      I am more often "inspired by" a painting, photo, film, etc., than trying to make a perfect reproduction.
       
      #25 phanuel, Sep 4, 2014
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    26. These are some pics I took while experimenting for last year's contest.
      I think the main problem I had with this one was convincing myself to keep the yellow cast to match the painting. I just really hate yellowish skin tones and always correct them in photoshop. The hat is an inside-out fur wig and, rather than photoshop the smoke, I believe I used Halloween spider-webbing.
      [​IMG]Inspired by... by bentwhisker, on Flickr[​IMG]Inspiration by bentwhisker, on Flickr

      Sometimes, rather than try to copy the original exactly, I prefer to improvise a bit, making the result more my own. In this one, for instance, I replaced the blood drops with red (faux) jewels. And, where I do want an element of the original to be as close as possible, I have resorted to printing up that image and inserting it into mine, as is done here with the inscription, and above with the pipe.
      [​IMG]Inspired by... by bentwhisker, on Flickr[​IMG]Inspiration by bentwhisker, on Flickr

      Of course, the difficult thing here was the pose. You usually avoid up-the-nose shots, but for this it was necessary. I had to tie her hands behind her back and do the best I could with her legs and feet. And, again, as in the Van Gogh, I left it with a yellowish tone to better match the original.
      [​IMG]Inspired by... by bentwhisker, on Flickr[​IMG]Inspiration by bentwhisker, on Flickr
       
      #26 phanuel, Sep 12, 2014
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    27. Those are great, phanuel.

      I am with you on using an artist's work as inspiration, rather than trying to mechanically reproduce it (although that has value too). By using the work as inspiration, it means you have to spend time really analysing what they do and how they do and that will teach you a whole lot more.

      Did we want to put an option for crit in this? So, if people want it, then can ask for hard or soft crit, to help them develop? I know I would want it for mine. The harder the better. One of the best ways to reflect and develop.
       
      #27 MadamMauMau, Sep 12, 2014
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    28. Oh, I did this last year for that contest too!

      It's called St. Francis Contemplating a Skull
      Original
      [​IMG]

      mine
      [​IMG]

      These are great, I loved looking at them the last couple DOA anniversaries!
       
      #28 VampireAngel13, Sep 12, 2014
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    29. So many wonderful ideas and great talent! This is truly a thread with lots to learn from.
      Hm, not sure how much I can contribute in ways of technique, but I thought I'd join in.

      This contest was the first recreation of a photo by me in a long time. I approached it like I usually do with my photos - I try to set up everything in such a way that I will need only minimal editing in the end.
      Here's the original:
      [​IMG]louisebrooksrichee by Oh Shiny, on Flickr
      The famous photo of silent movie actress Louise Brooks with the pearl necklace by photographer Richee.

      And my recreation:
      [​IMG]1bw by Oh Shiny, on Flickr

      I still have an unedited version here:
      [​IMG]1orig by Oh Shiny, on Flickr
      So everything is already posed in a way that I won't have to hide stands, pins or whatever when editing. That's why taking the photo took so long, I took loads of photos and checked the tilt of the head, of the hand, drape of the cloth... and checked again until I thought I had achieved all I possibly could. Lighting was natural, luckily it was light enough as I don't like having to use a lamp. I knew that the drapes of the cloth would dissapear later, as would the too light hair, so I didn't bother with it more than I needed to get the right neckline and sleeves, plus hide the thumb. I'm still a bit sad I couldn't find a longer necklace.

      The editing consisted of turning it into a black and white photo and playing with levels until the contrast satisfied me. See, only one sentence for editing, the main part was the preparing and taking of the photo.
       
      #29 Ophiaca, Sep 12, 2014
      Last edited: Aug 7, 2017
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    30. #30 MadamMauMau, Sep 23, 2014
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    31. Indeed! I've been enjoying those this morning as well. ^__^


      Edit:
      I tried another re-creation. It's sort of terrible, but eh...figured I'd contribute it anyway?

      [​IMG]

      It's based on this painting by Sas Christian. We saw postcards of this piece at a local gallery and my husband really liked it, so we thought it would be fun.

      [​IMG]

      The original file for my photo just died in an odd way after I exported it (the top half of the photo went all white and odd)...so much as I would like to tweak it more...I can't. It's dead. Blah. Anyway...I felt daring for putting so much black cloth on a WS DD. :sneaky
      (Lol. Actually I wrapped the whole doll in plastic wrap first! I was scared.)
       
      #31 Lady Ravenswood, Sep 23, 2014
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    32. At first glance I wouldn't have noticed the difference with some of those John Malkovich photos!

      Lady R., I actually like your photo better than the original.
       
      #32 phanuel, Sep 23, 2014
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    33. Lady R, that works so well. It succeeds as an image in itself, let alone being very close to the original. Well done!
       
      #33 MadamMauMau, Sep 23, 2014
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    34. I love this idea! Now to find the perfect one to recreate.
       
      #34 Jana Yvette, Sep 23, 2014
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    35. ^ Glad to have you join in the fun, Jana Yvette. ^__^


      Hehe, a friend told me the same thing. Thank you! I think the adorableness of the Mariko sculpt is hard to deny. ^_~

      Thanks so much. I am happy that I got the glints in her eyes and got a softer focus on the background (my camera tends to focus on EVERYTHING at that kind of distance and I don't have too much say about it, but I think the light I was using for her eyes helped in that regard by making the camera see shadows behind her). My husband really liked it when he got home, so I was happy in the end since I took it for him. ^_^
       
      #35 Lady Ravenswood, Sep 24, 2014
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    36. shrinkomatic, I have been mulling over that GoT effect on and off since you flagged it up. I hate an unsolved mystery. I can't say I have got very much closer to it, in spite of all my cogitations. But, two things to add to the pile of what needs to be done.

      The midtones are slightly warm. This chap gives three methods for warming your midtones selectively. http://www.butzi.net/articles/toning.htm I used the middle one, as I have not yet got my head around curves. I warmed only the midtones, leaving the highlights and shadows neutral.

      Also, the texture needs adding. I did this by adding a layer of texture (a picture of a nobbly wall. You can find free texture images on DeviantArt). I set the blend mode to screen as, in the reference images, the shadows seem to be lightened by the texture, and screen will do this. I then erased any bits that shouldn't be textured, like eyeballs (bleurgh). And, well, I am not sure it made all the difference.

      So, no. Not got it yet. The reference images are still smoother than this. On we go, I suppose.

      [​IMG]

      And found some free B&W conversion plug ins. I have downloaded a few and not found anything mind blowing yet, but I will keep looking.

      http://www.atncentral.com/bw_conv.html
       
      #36 MadamMauMau, Sep 25, 2014
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    37. Here's an attempt to recreate a famous photo from Man Ray:
      [​IMG]

      [​IMG]
       
      #37 shlimbo, Feb 10, 2015
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